Game Day

[Secret of the Ouse]

I know the game time and dates announcement isn't for another month or so, but does anyone think we could have another college gameday at the Bradley center this season.  I think last years gameday was a good showing, and a success.  Home games against UL or GU would be most appealing to ESPN.  I'm just throwing this out there because last years gameday game vs. Pitt was a blast.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

No way. Not for a couple years, I'd guess.

If they did come back, I'll bet we'd break the single game attendance record by one.

[spartan3186]

Come on now, everyone knows that they add a seat to the BC every big game we have 

[mu_hilltopper]

Oh, so that's how they're doing it every year.  I thought they were just counting fat people twice.

[GOMU1104]

If the game with Georgetown is scheduled late in the season (like Pitt last year) I think ESPN would have a hard time staying away from the BC.  Hopefully they will think enough of our chances to win the Big East and forsee a late game with GTown as one that could have Conf Championship implications and bring Rece and the gang back to Milwaukee!


I woudl rather not have the UL game as the site for gameday...A long day capped off by the annual kick in the balls, (this year probably by Edgar Sosa), just doesnt make me excited.

[augoman]

I woudl rather not have the UL game as the site for gameday...A long day capped off by the annual kick in the balls, (this year probably by Edgar Sosa), just doesnt make me excited.

well said.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

No way. Not for a couple years, I'd guess.

If they did come back, I'll bet we'd break the single game attendance record by one.

Why don't you think they'd come back?

I remember watching the recording of the telecast and the ESPN on-air crew felt MU's performance was the 2nd best they'd seen all season (think Kansas was #1). Seems like it would be perfect for ESPN: Big East, 2 top 15 teams, good brand of basketball, large crowd, massive student section, etc.

It's possible.

[muhoosier260]

I think MU is deserving, but there are so many other schools that are too. I didn't realize the private schools that have hosted gameday- 'cuse, duke, gonzaga, bc....no ND! Hah, we have something over them! Let's keep it that way, bring gameday back to milwaukee!

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

No way. Not for a couple years, I'd guess.

If they did come back, I'll bet we'd break the single game attendance record by one.

Why don't you think they'd come back?

I remember watching the recording of the telecast and the ESPN on-air crew felt MU's performance was the 2nd best they'd seen all season (think Kansas was #1). Seems like it would be perfect for ESPN: Big East, 2 top 15 teams, good brand of basketball, large crowd, massive student section, etc.

It's possible.

I think they'll definitely come back...just not this year. They did, what..about five of those last year? And we were one. There are probably 30 schools lobbying for it.

Matter of fact, I'll bet Crean hasn't even proposed it to ESPN. We can't get greedy. Like I said, two or three more years and they'll come back.

[Dish]

MU is NOT hosting GameDay this year (although I do expect MU @ Louisville to be a Saturday night ESPN game with the GameDay crew there).

2005 GameDay Host Schools

UConn
Kansas
Syracuse
Maryland
Kentucky
Memphis
Ok. State

2006 GameDay Host Schools

Louisville
Oklahoma
Florida
Gonzaga
Syracuse
Texas
Duke

2007 GameDay Host Schools

Marquette
LSU
Pitt
Boston College
Kentucky
North Carolina
Kansas
Michigan State
Ohio State

If I had to guess on GameDay 2008 hosts...

Memphis (vs Gonzaga)
UCLA (vs Washington State on 1/12/08)
Tennessee (vs Kentucky)
Washington State (vs USC on 2/9/08)
Duke (vs UNC)
Georgetown (vs Syracuse)
Louisville (vs MU)
Texas (vs Kansas)
Indiana (vs MSU)

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Don't be surprised if they throw a bone to Majerus.

[Gwaki]

I really enjoyed gameday when it was at the BC but what I didn't enjoy was the time leading up to gameday.  I camped out all night and had to deal with drunk fans trying to steal my spot in line. It ended up not mattering but it was no fun just thinking about the mess that was going to ensue when we crossed the street.  Like I said it was a goood time and all but it was so incredibly draining on the body.  If gameday does come back I would do the same thing, but this time I hope athletics would be more prepared.

[Dish]

I can't see SLU hosting. SLU's only two non-conference games of note are @ Boston College (Tuesday, December 4th) and @ Pitt (Sunday, November 11th). The rest of their sked is the A-10 and a bunch of mid-majors.

I would bet though that the BC game is an ESPN game.

[Marquette84]

I can see giving UCLA a game, but against Washington State?  WSU might have a good team next season, but I don't see that they generate much exceitement nationally.  More likely is the 2/16 game against USC--Mayo will make for a more interesting story than anyone on WSU's roster.

And St. Louis?  Can anyone really see a huge interest in a SLU/Dayton or SLU/Fordham A-10 matchup on game day?  The only way I see SLU in a game day is if they play at Xavier, which is far more deserving than St. Louis.

I think Wisconsin, Villanova, Illinois, Arizona, Virginia Tech and Xavier are probably overdue to host, although with the way Illinois recruiting is headed, they're on the bubble.

[GOMU1104]

I really enjoyed gameday when it was at the BC but what I didn't enjoy was the time leading up to gameday.  I camped out all night and had to deal with drunk fans trying to steal my spot in line. It ended up not mattering but it was no fun just thinking about the mess that was going to ensue when we crossed the street.  Like I said it was a goood time and all but it was so incredibly draining on the body.  If gameday does come back I would do the same thing, but this time I hope athletics would be more prepared.

Great post.  Couldnt agree more!

[Dish]

I could see UCLA/USC happening, but I think Washington State will host, especially against USC. Remember, Gonzaga hosted a couple years back, and these games aren't always about generating the most interest nationally. I would imagine Bennett is doing what Crean did last year and lobbying for GameDay to come out to Pullman.

Indiana @ Illinois would be a GREAT game to see this year though.

[Harrison]

Dish is dead on...  while the MU crowd might have been great that is not enough to get the Gameday back.  They only host 6-7-8 a year and like has been said before there seem to be about 20-30 schools that put up a great game and crowd.  My guess would be every 3-4 years.  Just getting 1 is great getting on the rotation is great for the program.  very similar to being invited to the holiday tourneys...not too long ago MU never went, now we are in the rotation which is great for not only exposure but schedule strength and preparation.

I agree with the "attendence records" at some point they become sort of silly.   I will add though that there are factors that can have a real affect on the attendence.  I have gone to many games without a ticket and sat on press row or in the VIP seats and went throught the turnstile.  In bigger games the more people that are brought in that way can affect the number.  Additionally, Club Cambria is a new factor.  For those that have not been there the Bradley center leased 3 sky boxes to Club cambria they gutted them and made them into one huge sky box.  I believe it holds 175 people.  The Louisville game was sold out in Club Cambirai, can can account easily for a 100 or so attendence figure depending on the booking and particiapation levels. Nevertheless, I completely agree with the beating it by 1 lunacy.

[muhoosier260]

gwaki got it right. the ath. dept., bc crew and police collectively did not do enough to prepare for this. the bonehead cops herded all 1500 students (however many there were) between the entrance to the bc and state street, thats 1500 students (some drunk yes) in about a 200 foot line, and thanks to their planning I know of at least one person who had to be rushed out of there via ambulance b/c there was hardly even enough room to breathe, especially for a smaller girl. i personally got there around 6, but i felt bad for the ppl who had been there all night waiting and then got lost in the crowd when everyone ran across the street at 7 or whenever. they need more order for the upcoming season for big time games, b/c just looking at the schedule that we know of right now there will be more than a handful

[GOMU1104]

gwaki got it right. the ath. dept., bc crew and police collectively did not do enough to prepare for this. the bonehead cops herded all 1500 students (however many there were) between the entrance to the bc and state street, thats 1500 students (some drunk yes) in about a 200 foot line, and thanks to their planning I know of at least one person who had to be rushed out of there via ambulance b/c there was hardly even enough room to breathe, especially for a smaller girl. i personally got there around 6, but i felt bad for the ppl who had been there all night waiting and then got lost in the crowd when everyone ran across the street at 7 or whenever. they need more order for the upcoming season for big time games, b/c just looking at the schedule that we know of right now there will be more than a handful

Yup...I would definately be in favor of reserved seating, at least for the lower bowl.   The constant waiting in line for 3+ hours before gametime is fun at the start, but it gets real old real fast.  I would much rather camp out and wait in line once for reserved seating (like students at UW) than be forced to sit out for hours every home game.

I know in the questionaire the Athletics Dept. sent out at the end of the school year had one question that asked "Would you be willing to pay more for reserved seating?" Answer: Strongly Agree!

[The Lens]

I was kind of involved in MUSG when Gen Ad came around.  My group thought it was the greatest thing b/c we went to every game since freshman year and hated seeing seats in front of us empty.  We knew it would make the BC get louder having people packed in (like the St Bonnie's NIT Crowd in 1995).  What we couldn't foresee was the HUGE demand for seats. 

If I was there now I would create a pay & play system.  For the first 20 rows or so make kids show up to 90% of the preconf games when schools in session (including exhibitions).  Then once the results are tallied offer those kids an option to buy the best seats for the Big East (and maybe UW / big non conf game) for $25 more total or so ($25-30 to a college kid is a lot of money, at least it was to me in 1997).   This way you get the most committed kids, not just the richest.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I was kind of involved in MUSG when Gen Ad came around.  My group thought it was the greatest thing b/c we went to every game since freshman year and hated seeing seats in front of us empty.  We knew it would make the BC get louder having people packed in (like the St Bonnie's NIT Crowd in 1995).  What we couldn't foresee was the HUGE demand for seats. 

If I was there now I would create a pay & play system.  For the first 20 rows or so make kids show up to 90% of the preconf games when schools in session (including exhibitions).  Then once the results are tallied offer those kids an option to buy the best seats for the Big East (and maybe UW / big non conf game) for $25 more total or so ($25-30 to a college kid is a lot of money, at least it was to me in 1997).   This way you get the most committed kids, not just the richest.

I think several schools have a points system that allows students to amass points by attending certain games and then getting proffered seating.

MU used to give upperclassmen priority when I was a frosh... but that only led to frosh. not going to as many games (I had to sit upstairs) while there were empty seats in the lower bowl that the seniors weren't using.

Obviously the program is in a different state now then back in 1998, so maybe it's time to look into some sort of points system.

Or maybe some games are points and some a general... I mean there is still something exciting about waiting in line to get the best seats.

[drewm88]

I think reserved seating would be an AWFUL idea. The only downside to general admission that has been mentioned is the craziness in the morning before Gameday and that waiting in line gets boring after a few games. So what? The athletic department can prepare better next time, and then we won't have a problem like Pitt. It wouldn't take much more than some saw horses and a public safety presence from the start. Also, with the timing of it all, there was much more alcohol involved than the usual big game. As for waiting in line getting old, it's not supposed to be fun. If you really, truly want the best seats, put up with the line. I think the system could not be any better than the way it is now. Get the most dedicated fans in front.

[beato1]

I can't think of a worse idea than going back to reserved seating.  Having been a student for Deane's final two years and Crean's first two I can say with 100% certainty general admission is the way to go.  During the Deane years (even with general admin) we would show 45 minutes before tip off and get some of the best seats.  This was better than prior years where we would show up 10 minutes before tip off and have hundreds of empty seats ahead of us.  The problem is not GA vs assigned seating it is the way the admission and priority is handled.  I dislike Duke but the idea of a Creanville isn't bad - students camping on Schroeder field for the best seats (I'm sure someplace indoors could be found as well - like the old gym) and a more intelligent way to let people into the BC could go a long way. 

Reserved seats - worst idea ever.

[4everwarriors]

Nope, worst idea ever was changing our nickname.

[muwarrior87]

I get there 3 or 4 hours before the games so I am guarenteed my section 106 seat and can then do what I can to get the student section going...I am very vocal at these games and always try to keep it positive so our students aren't booing DJ for being stupid cuz that's just not right...even if he is playing like a moron, ya don't boo your boys.

But back to the topic...no assigned seating unless it's just for 106 and the first 10 rows of the other section since for the most part, the ushers know who sits there and it's generally the same people every game. I did hear last year that they are thinking of raising the student ticket price which I would love to see. Weed out the girls (and guys too) that come to see one or two preconf games then get sick of it and don't show up for conference or worse, don't even give their tix to others that want to go. I know a few people last year that waited just a day or two too long to get tix that are diehard bball supporters and crazy good fans and they were S.O.L. but did still manage to get to the big games luckily. Gotta get 'em as soon as they're released.